Down the middle
by Deus Swiftblade
Summary: one-shot I had that was inspired by Major League.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Warning: I will mention the girls and Gaara's siblings a little bit but they won't be shown much. **

Down the middle

"Talking"

_Thinking_

(Location: Konoha stadium, locker room)

The atmosphere in the locker room was both tense and excited. This was it, they had made to the last game, the final one. If they won this game, the trophy would be theirs but right now, all they could do was wait.

A few minutes later the team all stood up and headed for the exit, it was time to play. Everyone began to leave except for one person. He was still sitting down like he was not part of the team. One other person notice and came back to him. "Naruto." He said to the person sitting down, causing him to look up. "You know the Coach put you in reserve because of what happened, not because you did something."

Naruto smiled a little. "I know Gaara, I know but I'm okay, I know I am. I can play tonight."

"Coach probably thinks that too, he only changed the pitching roster, he didn't kick you out of the game."

"I appreciate what you're doing Gaara but Coach Kakashi switch me with Neji, so we both know that the odds are against me that I'll play tonight."

"Well, all of us know if there was anybody who could beat the odds, it's you Naruto." Gaara grinned.

"Thanks Gaara, you should go catch up with the rest of the team. I'll come out when the game gets going."

Gaara nodded once, turned and headed back to the team. As the team walked out of the locker and into the tunnel that lead to the dugout, Kakashi talked to Gaara. "How is he doing?" Kakashi asked.

Gaara sighed. "He's okay, but he didn't want to be put in reserve."

"There is still a chance he can play, you know that."

"He doesn't seem to think so."

"Gaara, you know why I did this; he was almost killed in the last game."

Gaara winced at the memory. "I know that Coach, Naruto knows that, the entire team knows that for the love of God!"

"Then you all know why I did this."

"We do Coach, trust me we do know that. But you and I both know that it's this team that Naruto wants to play against."

Kakashi sighed. "I know, but for now let's focus on the game."

Gaara nodded and turned back to where the team was walking out to.

(Location: Press box)

"Hello to all you baseball fans from around the world! Welcome to the final game of the Namikaze Memorial Tournament. The last two teams that will now go head-to-head for the trophy are the home team, the Konoha Shinobis and the away team, the Akatsuki Bijus. I'm your host, Jiraiya, along with my color man and good friend, Iruka Umino. Do you have anything to say Iruka?"

Iruka smiled. "I only hope that today, the players can prove to the crowd that they earned their way to this game."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "As you all know, this Tournament is in honor of Minato Namikaze, recognized throughout the world as one of the best baseball players we have had. There has been many a rookie player who considers Minato an idol. He was also well known off the field as well as on it; Minato has been credited for saving many orphanages, retirement homes and donating money to those who absolutely needed it. Sadly Minato has been in a coma for the past 20 years after the famous failed robbing of Kage bank. The robbers were apprehended after a gunfight had occurred; Minato had managed to overpower one of the robbers, took his gun and fought back, the robbers however returned fire once they realized what had happen. By the time the cops had gotten into the bank, both Kushina Uzumaki, Minato's wife who had helped Minato in fighting the robbers, and Minato himself were shot and were in critical conditions. Both Minato and Kushina were rushed to the hospital and were treated immediately. In the end, Kushina had died and Minato was in a coma, they left behind a four year-old son."

Jiraiya took a moment of silence and then continued. "The world of baseball decided that to honor what Minato had done for the world before that day, they've created this Tournament, welcoming all professional teams to join and compete to see if they could win. Many teams had signed up to play in this tournament but now there are only two teams left. Ironically enough, the two teams left are, as I had said before, Minato's team the Shinobis and the only team that Minato had lost to, the Bijus." Jiraiya looked over to Iruka. "Who's in the starting line for the teams Iruka?"

Iruka looked at the rosters. "The Bijus aren't playing around Jiraiya; they are putting their top players out on the field and the batting order. Their leadoff hitter is the center field number 25, Kokuō Shiroiuma. Second in the batting order is third baseman number 36, Isobu Gureikame. Third in the batting order is second baseman number 18, Matatabi Hineko. Fourth in the batting order and cleanup hitter is pitcher number 30, Yahiko Amemori. The fifth and sixth in the batting order are short stop number 16, Son Gokū and left field number 49, Chōmei Kabutomushi. The seventh and eighth in the batting order are first baseman number 56, Gyūki Kooushi and right field number 66, Saiken Suppai. The last batter is catcher number 11, Shukaku Sabaku."

"You are right about that roster Iruka, the only thing wondering about is the fact that their ace pitcher is not playing first, he usually does."

"Either he wants Yahiko to play the entire game or see if Yahiko can last for the entire game, although my money is that he is waiting for something."

(Location: Biju's dugout)

"Hey Kurama, the guy said you're waiting for something, as if!" Son, a big man with flaming red hair said while laughing. The others on the team grinned as Kurama looked at them. Shukaku who had light brown hair, Matatabi who had two different eye colors and had dyed his hair blue, Isobu who had grey-green hair that worked on him along with that scar under his left eye, Kokuō with his white hair cut short, Saiken with his black hair greased back, Chōmei who had his hair tinted blue and Gyūki with his black hair shaved close to his head.

"They say what they want to say, that's all Son." Kurama told the man. He turned his head back to look the stadium that was getting packed fast. Feeling eyes watching him, he turned and saw Yahiko, who the team called Kurama's apprentice, looking at with a question in his eyes. "What's on your mind, Yahiko?"

"Why are you letting me pitch Kurama? You've only let me played against teams that were easy to beat and the last time I checked, the Shinonbis are definitely not an easy team."

Kurama smirked. "That is exactly why you are pitching first Yahiko." When he saw Yahiko's confused look, he explained. "I want to see how you do against a good team, that's all."

Yahiko looked down at his feet. "That's not all, is it?" He looked back up at Kurama. "You want to see if he is going to play, aren't you?"

Kurama said nothing, which made Yahiko continue. "Kurama, we all saw that game. The chances of him playing today are very little, you know that."

"If he is anything like his father, then that chance will come."

"Kurama, do you still blame yourself for what happened twenty years ago?"

Kurama sighed, thinking about what had happen. "Yes, I do. The only way to make up for it is to give all I got against his son."

"So if he is not going to play, then you're not going to play, is that it?"

When Kurama said nothing, Yahiko sighed in defeat. "It's nice to know how much my abilities are valued on this team." As he turned away, Kurama called his name. "I truly want to see how you do against a good team; I want to see how well you've developed under my training." Yahiko turned back to Kurama, nodded in thanks, and went back to the rest of the team.

Kurama could remember what happened twenty years ago like it was yesterday.

(Flashback: Twenty years ago)

Kurama looked at the person in the batter's box. It was the last game of the season and whoever won this were going to the playoffs. It was the bottom of the ninth, the Bijus led by one, there was one out and there was a person on second. The way Kurama saw it was if there was anyone who could stop him from winning this game was the person in the batter's box, Minato Namikaze.

The catcher signaled a pitch, Kurama agreed, he took his stance, drew back his arm and pitched the ball towards the plate. Minato did not swing as the ball went by. "Ball!" The Umpire cried. Kurama received the ball, acknowledge his signal, took his stance and pitched the ball again. This continued until there were two Balls and two strikes, by now Kurama was completely focused on trying to strike Minato out. He took his stance, drew back and pitched the ball, but he was so focus on trying to strike Minato out that he had gripped the ball the wrong way, he recognized this just as he was pitching and tried to fix it but it had only made it worse, the ball flew faster than he had intended and was also curving to the right as well as going down. Minato recognized what happened and tried to get out of the way but the ball still hit his leg hard, causing him to fall.

The crowd roared in anger which made the Umpire immediately called Kurama off the mound; he was about to when a voice roared silencing the crowd. "HOLD IIIIIITTTTTTTT!" The voice said, Kurama turned back and saw Minato getting up from where he fell, when he walked back to the box Kurama noticed that he was limping and favoring his right leg. Minato got to the box, took his stance and said. "Try that again, Kurama."

The Umpire, the coach and even the catcher tried to stop him from doing this while Kurama stood on the mound in shock. Minato shook his head and ready his bat for the next pitch. Kurama understood what Minato wanted from him; he waited for the Umpire and catcher to get ready and the couch to leave, he took his stance and pitched the ball one more time.

Minato swung with all his might. The bat hit the ball, grounding it straight down to center field. The man at second took a chance and started to run towards third while Minato ran towards first. The center fielder picked up the ball and threw it to the third baseman; he caught it and tagged the runner, getting an out. He saw Minato running towards and threw the ball to the first baseman. Minato ran with all he could but because of the injury to his leg, he could not run fast enough and was tagged out. Three outs, bottom of the ninth and the Bijus had won the season.

Kurama just watched as Minato limped his way back to the dugout. "Minato, wait!" He called out as he ran towards him. When he caught up, Minato looked at him in some confusion. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to lose control of the ball like that." He explained while trying to catch his breath.

Minato only smiled. "That's okay Kurama; I know you didn't throw that pitch on purpose, so there is nothing to apologize for." Kurama could only look at Minato in shock which caused him to laugh. "Tell you what Kurama, after your next game, I'll come by and we can go get a drink, does that sound good to you?" He asked. Kurama could only nod in agreement. "Good then, I'll see you after your next game then, see ya Kurama." With that said, Minato continued to limp back to the dugout.

(2 Days later)

Kurama could only look at the morning paper in shock, he could not believe what it said but it was there in black and white:

**MINATO NAMIKAZE IN COMA, DOCOTRS UNSURE IF HE WILL RECOVER!**

**The famous baseball player Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, were shot after trying to stop eight men from robbing the Kage bank in downtown Konoha. They had overpowered two of the robbers, taken their guns and had started a firefight. Kushina was shot in the heart while trying to protect a mother and her two children. Minato was shot in his left leg which was injured in his last game, which caused him to collapse and gave the robbers an opportunity to shoot Minato in the chest. By the time the police had gotten into the building, both Minato and Kushina were in critical condition and were rushed to the hospital. Sadly Kushina had died while being treated and Minato was put into a coma while he was being treated. Right now it is unknown if Minato will wake up again or if he will stay like this for the rest of his life.**

Kurama kept reading the article over and over again, always going back the same sentence. He kept reading the part where Minato had collapse after being shot in his injured leg. Only one thought was going through his mind. _"I caused this."_

(End Flashback)

Kurama shook his head, there was no point in wishing it hadn't happen, the only thing he could was to focus on the game.

(Location: Press Box)

"While speculation on the Bijus ace pitcher is going around, it's time to look at who is batting for the Shinobis." Jiraiya looked at Iruka. "Who do we have Iruka?"

"Well, to start off, their leadoff hitteris shortstop number 72, Kiba Inuzuka. Second in the order is third baseman number 27, Shikamaru Nara. Third in the order is left field number 20, Rock Lee. Fourth in the order and cleanup hitter is first baseman number 5, Sasuke Uchiha. Fifth and Sixth in the order are catcher number 01, Gaara Sabaku and second baseman number 38, Shino Aburame. Seventh and Eighth in the order are right field number 40, Choji Akimichi and center field number 15, Sai Edakumi. The last batter is pitcher number 64, Neji Hyuuga." Iruka read off the roster.

"For those of you who are wondering why both of the catchers share the same last name, it is because both Gaara and Shukaku are cousins, this should be a little bit interesting when one of them comes up to bat." Jiraiya explained. "Also it's no surprise why Neji is pitching, while there is a chance of the Shinobis ace pitcher playing, it's not a very good chance."

Iruka nodded in agreement. "Jiraiya, I'm sure that there are still Konoha fans who are still outrage about what happened at the end of the Shinobis game against the Oto White Snakes and, quite frankly, can you blame them?"

"No Iruka, I cannot blame them but the Shinobis are now taking the field." The team took their places and started to warm up, once they were good to go, Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the last game in the Namikaze Memorial Tournament starts NOW!" He thundered into the microphone, causing the thousands of fans in the stadium and across the world to roar in excitement.

(Location: Konoha Hospital)

He had no idea where he was or what was going on. He only barely remembered what his name was but nothing else. He kept trying to find out where he was and how to get out, which was impossible considering it was completely black and he couldn't even see himself. But he still struggled to get out, not knowing how long he had been trying. He was about to give when he heard a faint noise, it had been completely silent the entire time he was here, so when he heard the noise he tried to listen to what it was. As the sound got louder, he could make out. "Neji pitches and it's strike three! That makes it two outs in the top of the first inning." The voice sounded familiar and what he talking about also sounded familiar, like he had heard it before. The only thing he could do now, he figured, was to continue to listen to this and see if it helped him remember who he was."

(Location: bullpen sitting area)

Naruto watched the game from where he sat. When he heard Jiraiya talk about that day, it made him think back to that day.

(Flashback: Twenty years ago)

Naruto was having snack time in daycare when there was someone knocking at the door. Miss. Rin went to go see who was at the door, meanwhile Naruto got into a small fight with Kiba about how many crackers he had when Miss. Rin called him and told him to come to the door. Naruto went, feeling like he was in trouble, while the rest of the group, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari, trailed behind to see what would happen to him. When he got to the door, Naruto saw his godfather, Jiraiya, standing in front of the door. "Uncle Jiraiya!" He cried as he ran toward his godfather who picked him up. "Hey kiddo, how's it is going?" Jiraiya asked him.

"It's been great today. I can't for Mommy and Daddy to come and get me!" Naruto said, he then saw Miss. Rin leaning against the wall, crying. "Uncle Jiraiya, why is Miss. Rin crying and weren't you going to pick me up with Mommy and Daddy?"

Jiraiya sighed. "I came to pick up you early Naruto." He turned to Miss. Rin. "Is it okay if I take him out early?" He asked. Miss. Rin nodded, not trusting her voice. Naruto looked at his godfather. "What's going on Uncle Jiraiya?"

"I'm taking you home Naruto."

"B-but why, what did I do?"

"It's not what you did Naruto. It's your parents."

"Mommy and Daddy, Uncle Jiraiya what happened to Mommy and Daddy?" Naruto asked in a shrill voice.

"They been shot Naruto, they are in the hospital."

(8 Hours later)

Jiraiya got off the phone. "Naruto, come here!" He called to Naruto who was in the kitchen. As Naruto came in clutching his stuffed fox, Jiraiya sat him down on the sofa. "I just got off the phone with the hospital and I have some bad news." Naruto looked at him with scared eyes, it hurt Jiraiya to say it but he had to. "Your mother died Naruto, I'm sorry." Naruto started to cry but stop to ask a question. "What about Daddy?"

Jiraiya looked away for a couple of seconds before answering. "The good news about your father is that he is still alive but the bad news is that he is a coma." When he saw Naruto's confused look, he explained. "Naruto, your Daddy's is unconscious and the doctors are not sure if he will ever wake up again."

Naruto began to cry. "They promised Uncle Jiraiya, they promise that I was going the best birthday party ever today." The only thing Jiraiya could do was hug his godson. "I know gaki, I know they did." He said as Naruto continued to cry.

(End Flashback)

Naruto hated remembering that day. He hated remembering when he was told that his parents were in the hospital and then was told that his mother was dead and his father was in a coma. He tried to focus on the game but watching Neji pitch and remembering what Jiraiya had said reminded him of the last game.

(Flashback: Two weeks ago)

Naruto watched Lee step into the batter's box from third base, it was the bottom of the eight against the Oto White Snakes, there were two outs and the score was tied. The rest of the White Snakes who were giving him death glares, the reason was in the last inning Naruto had made a triple play that had shut the Snakes out when they had all bases loaded and a chance to take the lead. If the Shinobis wanted to win, it was up to both Naruto and Lee.

The pitcher took his stance and pitched the ball fully intending it to be a strike but Lee swung at the ball and made contact, whacking the ball into a line drive past the shortstop into right field, as Lee ran towards first base, Naruto took a chance and ran for home base. He distantly heard that Lee was safe as he made to first base but was focused on making it to home. By the time the pitcher had gotten the ball back, Naruto had made it across home and had put the Shinobi ahead by one.

As Naruto headed back to the dugout, he heard Lee yell out. "Naruto, look out!" causing him to turn and see the pitcher throw a fastball directly at him, forcing him to duck in order to avoid the ball. As Naruto started to rise, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, which made him collapse onto the ground. When he tried to get back up again, he felt the pain again causing him to collapse again, only this time he turned face up and saw it was the White Snakes catcher standing over him with Lee's bat in hand. The only thing Naruto could think of was _"Why would he do …?" _He never finished that thought as the rest of the White Snakes had joined the catcher, they all proceeded to try and beat him to death. While trying to defend himself, Naruto managed to cry out to his own team for help before being knocked unconscious.

When he came to, he was in the hospital with the team as well as Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Tenten, Temari and Kankuro sitting around his bed. As it turned out, he was very lucky, having only suffered bruises before his team had stopped them, thereby preventing any major damage. Naruto also learned that he was out for only four hours, but because the game was live around the world, a lot of fans saw what happened and were outraged at it; even fans from Oto were disgusted with what their team did. Because of their deliberate actions, the White Snakes were disqualified and banned from playing in any baseball competition again.

(End Flashback)

Because of that event, everyone became concerned about Naruto. Coach Kakashi had told the press that he was okay but didn't give any more details, causing a lot of people to wonder if he was going to play in the last game. The team kept silent about it and tried to make sure Naruto took it easy, which annoyed him to no end. Then yesterday, Coach Kakashi told him something that surprised him.

(Flashback: Yesterday)

Naruto could only look Kakashi in shock. "You're taking me off the roster?" He cried.

Kakashi raised his hands in defense. "Calm down Naruto, I'm not taking you off the roster; I only switched you with Neji."

"But why did you do that?" Naruto asked.

"You know why Naruto. The doctors told us to make sure you don't strain your body and give yourself a bad injury."

"But I'm fine, I've been feeling great since Monday and you know I have!"

"Yes Naruto I do but I'm not going to risk it, that's why I changed the rotation, you still have chance to play."

"Coach, you know why we call Neji the 'Birds Eye' pitcher, when he plays he keeps his eye on all the people who is on base and he also plays to the end. There's no way I'm going to play in the game if you have start it with Neji!"

"That's enough Naruto! I'm starting the game with Neji, if you complain about this anymore ace pitcher or not, I will take you off the roster. Am I clear Naruto?" Kakashi asked him in no nonsense tone of voice.

Naruto flinched back like Kakashi had just hit him hard. He straightened and said. "Perfectly clear Coach." He turned around left, knowing full well that the argument was over.

(End Flashback)

Naruto shook his head and sighed, there was nothing he could now except watch the game play out.

(Location: Field)

The crowd in the stadium watched the game play out with growing excitement. It seemed that the two teams were so evenly matched that they couldn't get an edge over the other. Every inning each team got men on base but could never get them home to score and a fair amount of at bats were struck out by both Neji and Yahiko. It was really exciting in the top of the fourth; there was Son at second and one out, Gyūki stepped up to bat, Neji pitched and Gyūki sent it all the back, it almost cleared the wall when Lee charged at full speed at the wall, ran up said wall and when he was at the top, proceeded to do a back flip off of it, catching the ball in midair. Noticing that Son was trying to make it to third, while still in midair Lee threw the ball straight to Kiba who caught it and tagged Son while Lee landed no worse for wear, which made it three outs and sent the crowd into a loud standing ovation. Both Lee and Kiba took a bow before going back to the dugout.

(Location: Press box)

"I cannot believe what I just saw Iruka." Jiraiya stated with wonder.

"I have to agree with you on that one, Jiraiya. That play is going to be one for the history books; I have never seen anyone pull that before now." Iruka agreed.

"That play alone will make Rock Lee a household name, odds are that play will be named after him!"

(Location: Konoha Hospital)

He listen to what had just happen while things slowing came back to him, from what he could tell that play was almost impossible but the one kid pull it off. As he listened, he remembered what the sport he was listening was, it was called baseball and he had a vague memory of playing it. What he had was not much to go on but he continued to listen to the game.

(Location: Field)

The game continued as no one managed to score a point. It was the bottom of the sixth with two outs; Choji stepped up to bat and waited for the pitch. Yahiko gave it and Choji hit it, sending it straight back towards Yahiko. Without even thinking, Yahiko stepped forward and caught the ball in his right hand. But because of what he did, the force behind the ball managed to break three of his fingers, causing him to fall to one knee. When they saw what happened, the Bijus on the field ran over to the mound and helped Yahiko back to the dugout.

(Location: Biju's dugout)

"How bad is it?" Kurama asked as he watched the team doctor looked over the injury.

The doctor looked up. "It broke three of his fingers; he won't be able to play for the rest of the game." He stated.

Yahiko looked at his mentor. "Sorry about this Kurama, I guess I didn't last as long as you had hoped I would." He said in a defeated tone.

Kurama snorted. "Don't put yourself down Yahiko; you did very well in this game. I'm proud of how well you did." With that, he walked down to the rest of team to pick up his glove. While he waited for the end of the inning, Shukaku came over to him. "So you're finally going to pitch, huh?" When Kurama nodded, he continued. "I was talking to Gaara while he was at bat, apparently they didn't take Naruto off the roster, the only thing they did was switched the pitching rotation."

Kurama smiled. "It's good that he still has a chance to play, thanks Shukaku." After Shukaku said "You're welcome." It was the end of the inning.

(Location: Press box)

"And that's the top of the seventh; the question now is how bad the Bijus pitcher hurt was?"

"Well Jiraiya, from what we saw when he caught the ball, he probably hurt his hand very badly."

"Indeed Iruka, hold there is something going on at the Bijus dugout, the couch is signaling for a new pitcher and it's…" Jiraiya stopped as he saw what was happening before he continued. "It's the Bijus ace pitcher number 81, Kurama Yoko."

The entire stadium went quiet as Jiraiya continued to list the statistics that Kurama had but no one listened, all they could think of was that this the last time a game between the Shinobis and the Bijus was this close, it was Kurama who won the game and the Shinobis did not have Minato Namikaze this time.

(Location: Konoha Hospital)

He shuddered as memories poured into him. Kurama, he knew that name and it had something to do with baseball. He could remember the last game against Kurama and what had happened to him in that game but he could not remember what happen afterwards or what the rest of his life was. But he continued to listen, hoping that he would find a way out."

(Location: Shinobis dugout)

Kakashi watched as Kurama pitched against his team. As he watched Kurama give foul after foul, strike after strike, never giving any balls he finally made up his mind. He turned to the one of the coaches in the dugout. "Asuma get Naruto ready." He said as Asuma went over to the dugout phone.

(Location: bullpen sitting area)

Naruto heard the phone go off and turned to see as the couch picked it up and answered it, when he put it down, Naruto look at him with puzzled look. "What's going on Coach?"

"That was Asuma; Coach Kakashi wants you to get ready." The coach explained, Naruto was surprised, he didn't think that he would play in the game. _"Something must have happened on the field." _Naruto thought as he went to get ready.

(Location: Field)

Since Kurama came onto the field, the game went to the Bijus favor. Kurama always managed to keep the runners on first base; if they tried to run they would get tagged out. Because of this, the Bijus morale rose, especially in the top of the eighth, there was a man on first and second with no outs and Kurama was at bat, taking Yahiko's batting position as well. Neji pitched the ball and Kurama hit the ball out of the park, giving Kurama a homerun. The next batters were quickly struck out and the teams changed sides. The Shinobis tried desperately to even the score but with Kurama on the mound, they never made it past first base. When the eighth inning was over, the score was 3-0 with the Bijus in the lead.

(Location: Press box)

"Kurama is decimating the Shinobis out there on the field, right Iruka?"

"Indeed, Kurama has never let a person past first base and has also giving the Bijus the lead with that homerun."

"If the Shinobis don't do something soon, they could very well lose this game."

"Your right about that Jiraiya, Neji is going to have to do some good pitching to give the Shinobis a chance to catch up."

(Location: Field)

The top of the ninth did not go as planned for Neji, he was tiring and he knew it. He had gotten the first two outs but had also let the base get loaded and Kurama was next up at bat. Neji could have tried to strike him out but he knew it wouldn't be right; it was the same feeling that gave Kurama that home run. He couldn't afford that to happen again, looking at Kakashi, Neji signaled him for a meeting on the mound. As Kakashi signaled the umpire to give them a moment, he joined Neji on the mound along with Gaara.

"How are you holding Neji?"Kakashi asked him when he got to the mound.

Neji replied. "I'm doing okay coach but I won't be able to keep this up."

"Do you think you can hang in there until the end of the inning?"

"I probably could but right now, I shouldn't even be on the mound." Neji stated with Gaara nodding in agreement.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about Neji?"

"Coach you know what I mean, the person who should be on the mound right against Kurama should be Naruto, not me."

"I know Neji, but…"

"Coach, when Shukaku was at bat he told me that Kurama was waiting for Naruto to come out and play in the game, the only reason he came into the game was because their pitcher hurt his hand when he caught that ball." Gaara said in a quiet voice interrupting Kakashi.

"It's also not me Coach, the crowd, the people at home, any fan of the Shinobis right now doesn't want me on the mound, they want to see their ace pitcher go up against the only person who had beaten the Shinobis when Minato was on the team." Neji said, making Kakashi think about it.

Finally thinking it through, Kakashi looked at both Neji and Gaara. "Alright Neji, I'll switched you with Naruto on the mound as well as in the batting order, now go sit down you earned a rest."

Neji nodded, handed the ball to Kakashi and left the mound, causing the stadium to whisper in excitement and suspense. Kakashi looked towards the bullpen, signaled the couch's attention and said in a clear voice. "Give me Naruto!"

(Location: Press box)

"Well apparently, Coach Kakashi has decided to take the 'Birds Eye' off the mound and called in a new pitcher, any guesses on who it is Iruka?"

"I'm not quite sure Jiraiya, but the way the game is going, I have a hunch who he is calling."

(Location: Field)

(Start Hero's Come Back!)

The stadium watched in anticipation as Neji was sent off the field, wondering who was going to pitch against Kurama. They then heard the start a song they have only heard when a certain person on the Shinobis was coming onto the field. They all turned to the door to the bullpen and as the first main chord of the song were struck, the door opened and Naruto stepped out and walked towards the pitcher's mound.

To say that the stadium and fans of the Shinobis were happy to see him would be an understatement of epic proportions.

(Location: Press box)

"So Kakashi decides to call in the son of Minato Namikaze, the ace pitcher of the Konoha Shinobis, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze himself to pitch against Kurama, this is going to be something that will watched for a long time folks." Jiraiya said, happy to see his godson play against Kurama.

(Location: Field)

When Naruto got to the mound while the stadium cheered and sang along with his signature song, he saw Kakashi and Gaara waiting for him. "Alright Naruto, Neji convinced me to let in on the game, so I want you to strike Kurama out no matter what, got it?" Kakashi asked him. Naruto nodded. "Alright Naruto, pitch with all you got." Kakashi said, than left the mound leaving Naruto with Gaara who asked him. "Are you going to use that pitch against him?"

Naruto looked at Gaara. "Only if I have to" He said. Gaara nodded and left the mound to go back to the catcher's box and let Naruto to warm up.

(End Hero's Come Back!)

(Location: Konoha Hospital)

He listened to the words and tried to figure them out. "Son of Minato Namikaze, Minato is my name, when did I have a-?" He stopped as the words repeated themselves again and again in his head. _"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." _Suddenly a memory came to him. A memory of his wedding day to the most beautiful and kind woman he had ever known. "Kushina," He said remembering everything that went with that name. "Then that means that I really do have a-!" He screamed as everything came rushing back to him. When it was over, he was crying, he knew who he was, what his life had been, what happened to him, who he was married to and who he became a father to. "Naruto, my son," He said with tears falling freely from his eyes. "That settles it; I've been asleep for too long, I have got to wake up!" He tried to focus on the noise, while also trying to wake up. "Come on Minato, you have to wake up! Your son is playing and you're not even watching the game, so get yourself together and wake up NOW!"

(Location: Konoha Hospital, Nurse's Station)

The 4 nurses at the station were glued to the TV that was playing the game, when one of the nurses took a look the computer that held the heart rates and brainwaves activity of patients on that floor and froze. "Hey guys, do we have anyone in corridor D?" She asked in a shaking voice. "Yeah, what's up?" One of the others asked, she swallowed and replied. "The brainwave activity in room 104 is increasing." she looked at the rest of the nurses there, who were standing there in surprise. "I think he's waking up." she finished before they rushed out of the station while one stayed behind and called a doctor.

(Location: Konoha Hospital, Room 104D)

Minato struggled to open his eyes, when he did his bed was surrounded by 4 people. "He's awake!" One of the people said, he then turned back to Minato. "Sir, can you hear me?"

Minato nodded. "Alright, let's sit him up, where is the doctor?" another of the people asked. "She's on her way." A third person answered. The first looked at Minato. "Sir, you're in the Konoha Hospital, My name is Nurse Kankuro. "These are Nurse Sakura." he pointed to a pink hair nurse. "Nurse Ino." He pointed to a blonde, long haired nurse, "And Nurse Hinata." A blue haired, lavender eyed nurse, "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Minato nodded and tried to point to the TV in his room which playing the game. "Please turn it up." He said in a voice that hadn't been used in a long time.

(Location: Konoha Stadium Field)

Naruto kept his head down and focused on his breathing. _"Alright Naruto, there are two outs, the bases are loaded and the only thing in your way to three outs is Kurama Yoko, you just have to focus." _He thought to himself as he waited, soon enough he heard the announcer say "Now batting, pitcher number 81, Kurama Yoko." He brought his head and saw his opponent. Gaara signaled, he agreed, took his stance and before pitching the ball, he said in a loud voice. "Fastball!" and pitched the ball.

Kurama quickly got over his surprised and swung the bat but missed. "Strike one!" cried the Umpire.

(Location: Press box)

"That's strike one against Kurama, Iruka do you have any idea what Naruto just did?"

"No I don't Jiraiya, all I can say is Naruto is doing something that no pitcher would ever have dreamed of doing but as to why he's doing this, I don't yet."

(Location: Field)

Kurama looked at Naruto. _"What was he thinking, calling out what he was going to pitch?" _he thought as Gaara threw the ball back to Naruto. He got ready as Naruto took his stance. Naruto drew back his arm, said in a loud voice. "Change up!" and pitched the ball. Kurama watched as the ball came down but as he got ready to swing, he noticed that the ball was going too low so he did nothing as the ball went pass the plate. The Umpire cried. "Ball one!" Naruto caught the ball from Gaara, took his signal, took his stance and said, "Knuckleball!" before pitching. Kurama watched the ball before swinging at it but he missed. "Strike two!" the Umpire said.

Naruto looked at Kurama. _"That's two strikes and one ball, I can strike him out, I just have to focus!" _He thought as he caught the ball from Gaara, he readied himself, accepted the signal from Gaara, He took his stance, said, "Sinker!" in a clear voice and pitch the ball. While Kurama watched the ball come at him, he noticed that it was sinking a little too quickly, so he did nothing as the ball came across the plate. "Ball two!" said the Umpire. Kurama watched Naruto, trying to figure out what he was doing before it all clicked in his mind. _"I see, so that's what you're doing Naruto." _He thought.

(Location: Press box)

"Well that's the fourth time that Naruto has called out what he was pitching to Kurama, odds are people are still wondering why he is doing that."

"I think know why Jiraiya, I think Naruto is doing this because he is challenging Kurama. He is basically saying 'this is what I'm throwing, try and beat it.' My guess is that Naruto wants to see if he can beat Kurama on his own terms."

(Location: Field)

Naruto took his stance but before he pitched, Kurama said, "Challenge accepted Naruto!" in a loud voice, which shook him up. He calmed down, retook his stance and said, "Curveball!" before pitching but Kurama watched in silence as the pitch went high. "Ball three!"

"_Damn it! He threw me off with that remark!" _Naruto thought in anger. _"It's three balls, two strikes and I can't use any of those pitches again, he's watching my pitches and if I throw those again, he'll hit them clear out of the park." _Naruto went over his options in his head. _"There is nothing I could use against him except…" _Naruto sighed as he caught the ball from Gaara. _"It's my only choice now." _Looking at Gaara, he shook his head at the signal, than gave his own signal, making his right hand into a fist and raising it to the side of his face. Gaara's eyes widened in surprise but nodded in acknowledgement.

Naruto stood there for a second, took a breath and said in a loud and clear voice, a pitch that made the entire stadium silent. "Hiraishin!"

(Location: Press box)

"Jiraiya, did I just hear Naruto correctly?" Iruka asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes you did Iruka. For those of you who do not know what Hiraishin is, it was created by Minato Namikaze, it can only be described as the perfect combination of a fastball and a breaking ball. This pitch helped Minato become a legend; he was the only one who could pitch it successfully."

"Another interesting thing is that it was this pitch that gave Minato the world record for fastest pitch at 105 M.P.H., this pitch has some punch behind it, so Naruto had better be careful when he throws this one." Iruka said.

(Location: Field)

The entire stadium was silent as Naruto readied himself for the pitch. This was the make or break pitch, if he made this, the teams would change sides and the Shinobis would have a chance to even the score. But if he didn't make, it would be over for the Shinobis. Taking a breath, Naruto took his stance, drew back his arm and pitched the Hiraishin. As soon the ball left his hand, it felt like time had slowed down, the ball going towards home plate second after agonizing second. It reached home plate and Kurama swung with all his might against the pitch.

To Naruto, it felt like he had failed and Kurama had hit the ball but then time started normally, Kurama swung and missed while the ball hit Gaara's glove with a sound equivalent to thunder, pushing Gaara back a few inches and making him fall on his back. Nobody knew what to make of it until Gaara raised his glove with the ball in it and the Umpire cried. "Strike three, YOUUUUUUU"RRRRRREEEEEEE OUT!"

When the Umpire said that, the entire stadium was cheering like there was no tomorrow.

(Location: Press box)

"He did it! Naruto has ended the inning with no runs and the Shinobis are only behind by 3, isn't that something Iruka?" Jiraiya asked an excited voice.

"There is something else that happened with that pitch Jiraiya, apparently not has Naruto end the inning, he has also shattered the world record for the fastest pitch, the pitch that Naruto threw was clocked at 115 M.P.H. that is a new world record right there people!"

(Location: Shinobis dugout)

When Naruto got to the dugout, everyone there began to congratulate him. "Nice save out there, Naruto!" Kiba called. "Way to go!" cried Choji. "Nice one, dobe." Sasuke smirked. Naruto was about to reply when Kakashi interrupted. "Alright guys, this is the last inning, if we don't win or tie it, then the Bijus win this Tournament. Do you want that?" He asked, getting a loud 'NO!" from everyone he continued. "Then when you go out there, you give it your all." He looked at everyone in the dugout. "Sound good?" He barked and got an answer from everyone else. "YES SIR!"

(Location: Field)

Kurama looked at all the bases. He had slipped a little bit and had let Shino onto second and Choji onto first but had struck Gaara and Sasuke out. Next at bat was Sai, who took his stance and waited. Kurama pitched the ball and Sai hit a line drive towards left field, going past Chōmei towards the wall, when the ball was picked up and thrown back, Sai had made it to first base while Shino and Choji had made it third and second respectively.

(Location: Press box)

"That makes it two outs in the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded. The next at bat is Naruto himself. This is the Shinobis chance to take the lead and win the tournament."

(Location: Field)

"Now batting, pitcher number 09, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," Said the announcer as Naruto made his way to the batter's box. After taking a few practice swings he lowered his bat, looked Kurama straight in the eye, pointed towards right field and said. "Grand Slam inside the park!" When he said that, the stadium roared their approval.

(Location: Press box)

"Once again, Naruto is challenging Kurama with something extraordinary!"

"That's right Jiraiya, what Naruto plans to hit is a pitch that stays in the field but he also plans to get everyone to home plate. If he makes this play, the Shinobis will win the tournament."

(Location: Field)

Kurama nodded towards Naruto, accepting the challenge. _"Alright Naruto, let's see if you can pull that off." _He looked at Shukaku, acknowledged the signal, took his stance and pitched the ball. Naruto waited for the pitch to come but as it came closer, he notice it was going too far to the left, so he did nothing as the ball flew by. "Ball one!" cried the Umpire.

Kurama caught the ball and retook his stance; he accepted the signal, pitched the ball and watched as it flew towards home plate. Naruto tried to swing and hit the ball but missed as it flew by. "Strike one!" the Umpire cried. Naruto watched as Kurama caught the ball, took his stance and pitched the ball again but this time it was too fast for Naruto to hit. "Strike two!" The Umpire cried.

Kurama pitched two more balls in rapid succession but both times it flew by and the Umpire said. 'Ball!' each time, _"I can beat him, I know I can!" _Kurama thought as he focused on Naruto. He pitched a third time but like twenty years ago, he gripped the ball the wrong way and tried to correct it but like before, it only made it worse. Kurama was not about to let history repeated itself. "Naruto, look out!" he shouted, Naruto was watching the ball when Kurama cried out and when the ball was about hit his legs, Naruto did a hell of thing: as the ball came at him like a bullet, he knelt down to one knee and caught the ball with bare hand.

(Location: Press box)

"I don't believe it! Naruto caught a bad pitch that could have seriously hurt him with his bare hand!" Jiraiya said in stunned wonder. "I have never seen anyone do that before!"

"That's probably because most people would try to get out of the way when a pitch like that is thrown Jiraiya, however Naruto is definitely not most people."

(Location: Field)

Kurama could only look at Naruto in surprise as he rose from his kneeling position and tossed the ball back to Kurama. "Try that again Kurama." Naruto said in a casual tone. _"It's not like last time. He wasn't injured." _Kurama took a breath of relief. _"It will not be like last time." _He thought confidently.

Naruto looked at Kurama and decided to restate his challenge. "Grand Slam inside the park!" He shouted, pointing his bat towards right field while the stadium again roared their agreement. Kurama acknowledge his signal, took his stance, drew back his arm and pitch with he had towards the plate.

Naruto watched the ball come at him with a vengeance but as it got closer, to Naruto it felt like time had again slowed down, only this time he had to hit the ball at just the right moment. _"You must wait Naruto, if you hit at the wrong moment, then you'll lose the game." _He said silently to himself as the ball closer.

Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

"_Just a little more…" _Naruto thought asthe ball reached home plate, _"NOW!" _and he swung the bat and hit the ball, sending it into a line drive to right field all the way to the wall. As Saiken scrambled to get the ball, everyone on bases started to run with all they had in their legs. By the time Saiken got to the ball, Shino had crossed home plate, with Choji passing third, Sai passing second and Naruto crossing first. Saiken threw the ball to third base but had flubbed the throw, causing it to fall short, he tried to get to it but crashed into Kokuō who was also going for the ball, which allowed both Choji and Sai to cross home plate safely, with Naruto on third the score tied.

As Naruto began to run for home plate, Son caught the ball from Saiken and had thrown the ball. Naruto was effectively racing the ball towards home. _"Come on Naruto, just a little more, you're almost home, you can win this!" _Naruto thought as he ran towards home plate, distantly hearing the stadium chanting the word 'GO!' again and again, as well as his team holding their breath. That's when he saw the ball flying towards Shukaku's glove. _""I'm gonna have to slide!"_ Naruto started to slide towards home plate just as Shukaku caught the ball. As he slid past home plate, he slapped his hand down the same time Shukaku slapped his glove down with the ball in the glove.

The entire stadium watched as the Umpire looked at home plate. Millions more watched their TV's to watch what would happen; whether in their homes or in a bar. The teams in both dugouts watch with hope in their eyes, and in a hospital room, one man watched the screen with the seconds going very slowly. As the Umpire lifted his head, everybody held their breaths.

"SAFE! SAFE! SAFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEE!" The Umpire bellowed, swinging his arms out and for one moment, everything was silent. And the stadium, for lack of a better description, lost it.

Naruto surged to his feet, not believing his eyes as he saw the scoreboard but it was right there:

**Inning: ninth**

**Shinobis: 4**

**Bijus: 3**

Naruto was slammed into a hug by Kiba who was screaming in delight, people were charging onto the field and crowding around him, hugging everybody and anybody. When Naruto got out of Kiba's hug, he noticed that Kurama still stood on the mound watching the celebration. After he forced himself out of the crowd, he walked to the mound, making everyone silent. After walking straight up to Kurama, Naruto held out his hand and said. "Good game, Kurama."

Kurama frowned. "That was not a good game, Naruto." Everyone froze at what Kurama had said but then he smiled, shook Naruto's hand and said. "That was DAMN good game!"

Both of them laughed as they let go and let the crowd surrounded them but a few minutes later, somebody came running towards Naruto with a stadium phone in his hand. "Naruto, you better take this call." He said breathlessly. Curious, Naruto took the phone and said. "Hello, this is Naruto."

What he heard come from the phone almost made him collapse in shock. "Hello Naruto." His father voice said from the phone. Naruto managed to control himself. "Y-your awa-wake-e," He said while in-voluntarily stuttering. "Yes, I am." Was the reply, his father giving a small chuckle. "I'm o-on my w-way, r-right now." Naruto closed the phone and half walked, half stumbled to the dugout. When he got there, he tripped and almost fell had Kakashi not caught him. "What's going on Naruto?" He asked as he helped Naruto up.

Naruto looked him straight in the eye and said in a voice that was heard throughout the stadium. "That phone call was from the Konoha hospital. My dad is awake." And as if he finally understood what those words meant, Naruto tore into the tunnel leading to the locker room.

(Location: Konoha Hospital)

Naruto burst out of the elevator; he had driven to the hospital in such way that if he had been stopped by cops, he would have gotten a ticket. When he arrived, he immediately ran for the elevator and had hit the button for the first floor.

As he ran towards the nurse's station, he noticed that the nurse was someone he knew. "Kankuro!" He called to Gaara's brother as he came to the station. "Where is my dad?"

"He is in corridor D, room 104." Kankuro said, earning him a rushed 'thanks Kankuro!' from Naruto as he ran towards corridor D.

Naruto looked down the rooms in corridor D, thankfully room 104 was near. As he walked to the door, he took a small breath and opened the door. As he walked through he saw his father on the bed with his eyes open. "Hey kiddo, how you've been?" said Minato.

Naruto looked at the doctor; she was one that he knew personally. "How is he, Granny?" he asked. Doctor Tsunade, who was in her fifties despite her appearance and married to Jiraiya, looked at her godson. "He'll be fine gaki but I'll leave you two alone for now." She walked out of the room, leaving father and son alone to talk with each other.

A somewhat awkward silence fell on the two, Minato decided to start the conversation. "How has your life been, Naruto?" He asked cautiously. Naruto didn't answer right away but after he went over to the chair next to the bed and sat down he finally answered. "It's been okay."

Minato looked down for a minute and said. "I'm sorry for what happen to you Naruto; you shouldn't have been left alone for twenty years without parents." Naruto smiled sadly as he remembered those years. "They weren't bad Dad, Jiraiya and Tsunade were there for me and I had my friends with me, we all loved baseball a lot and most of us joined the Shinobis when we were old enough." He said, making Minato grinned and reply. "I know."

Naruto looked at him. "How did you…?" He asked when Minato interrupted him. "The game was playing in here; actually it helped me come out of the coma." He explained, making Naruto ask him a question. "When did you come out of the coma?"

"When Jiraiya announced that you were going to be to be the pitcher. I saw you play Naruto, you did real good out there." Minato explained. There was a laugh by the door. "He sure did Minato, he sure did." Kurama said as he walked towards the bed.

"Is that you, Kurama?" Minato asked, which made Kurama nod. "It's good to see you again." Minato said with a smile, causing Kurama to wince like he was remembering something. "Minato, I'm sorry about all this, if I hadn't given you that injury, then you wouldn't have…" Minato raised a hand, stopping Kurama. "I told you before, I don't blame you for that throw and I don't blame you for what happened at Kage bank, just let it go." Minato told him, making Kurama give a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you Minato, you don't know how long that has been on my back."

"Oh. I could give a rough guess." That sentence made both men have a good laugh. "Kurama why are you here?" Naruto asked looking at him. "I wanted to talk to your dad and we probably won't be leaving any time soon." When he saw the confused looks, he explained. "The paparazzi are downstairs and they want to talk to the both of you. Right now they're being blocked by Jiraiya, Doctor Tsunade and a young blonde with four ponytails in her hair."

"Temari." said Naruto. "She's a close friend and is Gaara's sister." He explained to the two men. "Well from I heard come from her mouth, her boyfriend is going be to have an interesting time." Kurama said shrugging.

Naruto grinned. "I'll be sure to tell Shikamaru that you said that." The laughter in the room lasted for quite a few minutes, when it stopped Kurama looked at Minato. "Is that offer of a drink still on the table?" He asked. "All I have right is water but that's good for now, grab a cup and chair you two. I want to catch up on what I missed and I missed a lot." Minato told Naruto and Kurama.

Naruto was smiling as he sat down again with his water and talked with his dad and Kurama. He had won the tournament with his team; he had beaten Kurama on the mound and in the batter's box, and his dad had woken up after twenty years in a coma.

For Naruto right now, life was good.

**End**

**Author's note: **For the record, I apologize if I used some sort of baseball wording wrong. While I enjoy the game, I don't know all the specifics like some hardcore fans out there (Ex. I don't know what RBI's are).

I also apologize if anybody does not agree with what I wrote in Japanese, this is my first time coming up with original names in that language.

If you have seen the first Major League movie, especially the last game, you'll see that it sounds a bit similar. To set the record straight, that was somewhat intentional, the reason is that last game was, quite frankly, really epic

For the future, I plan to start on the Naruto and Avatar story next and after that, work on another short story before going back to Exile or another short story.

I know I keep missing words in sentences or misspelling them, I always try to double check what I write for mistakes but I keep missing a few, so sorry if you've found them when I didn't.

Thank you all for reading my stories and sending in reviews. It definitely helps me when I write the next chapter to know what's wrong.

I'll try to be back soon with a new story but until then, see ya around! 


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